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Your e-Mails

Biscuit man	Patrick Thornton makes a good point about the inverted base shell of Jammie Dodgers. Long ago, the base was the other way up so that the biscuit had a nice rounded appearance. The bottom surface had a detailed relief pattern matching the design on the top. There were several styles of ‘hole’ back in those days as well as the heart – including a very tasteful Celtic Cross. The jam tended to be hard and sticky, so that after cautiously biting into it you could draw out a trail of jam linking the biscuit back to your teeth. Over time, the consistency of the jam was changed to a softer, more tooth-friendly style. The flip-side of this was that it took longer to set, and after being deposited on to the biscuit tended to run out over the edges in a sticky mess. The solution was to flip over the base biscuit before depositing the jam, so that the engraved pattern anchored the jam to the biscuit. This flip-over took place in the late 1970’s, and has remained in place through all the subsequent re-designs of the biscuit. Now, the base shell only has the relief pattern round the outside, with the centre slightly scooped out to hold the jam better, so the original cosmetic design has evolved into a functional style. There was a TV campaign in the early 1970’s featuring Terry Scott as “the Dodger”, with images of the original Dodgers design. Burtons frugally re-used the advert in the early 1990’s, using the same graphics but with a different voiceover, thus advertising a product that looked quite different to the ones being sold! Biscuit Man!
Patrick Thornton Jammie Dodger Review	Having recently purchased a packet of the aforementioned biscuits, work colleagues discovered that the base level of the 'sandwich' had its patterned surface 'jam side'. Why hide this detail? Does this increase the adhesive capacity of the jam filling, offer a safer more stable 'plate status' (by using the plain side to increase the contact surface area) or, is it a mechanical error? Has anyone else noiticed this and is it replicated in the new orange dodgers? Yours, Pat
	Nicey replies: That's a profound point you've brought up there. I've always thought the reason was two fold. First the inner pattern plays an important role in retaining the jam as it is applied in liquid form. I would like to think that Burton's have spent considerable R&D money on refining this and getting it just right, and not simply made a bit of a pattern and stuck with it unchanged for years. Secondly the baked under surface of the biscuit is the natural surface for the final fully assembled Jammie Dodger to rest upon. This gives its most stable base and allows them to be stacked in nice little piles on plates for parties, to heights in excess of three biscuits.
Phil Barrows Rich Tea Review	Nicey, Could not resist another bit of biscuit smiley art, in recognition of London 2012. Created with Jammie Dodgers and Rich Tea Finger biscuits. Regards Phil & Wysi
Henry Odbert	Dear Nicey I got your book for Christmas. I'm glad that there's someone out there pushing forward the frontiers of english leisuretime. I thought you might be interested to see my website. I made it a few years ago to explain the Ultimate Biscuit Combo (UBC) in all it's glory. To this day, I still draw great pleasure from the UBC, and hope that maybe others can share in my biscuit-related joy. Continue your good and noble work Yours Sincerely Henry Odbert
	Nicey replies: I'm assuming you choose the Sainsbury's biscuit based on its complementary diameter.
Brendan McGarry	Hi According to a report on the radio just now, the Pope is well on the way to recovery from his latest operation, having eaten breakfast this morning. He apparently had a latte (which I know is anathema to fans of your website) and some biscuits. But the reporter didn't say what kind.  What kind of biscuits would the Pope eat? The obvious answer seems to be some kind of biscotti, since he's in Italy. But is there a biscuit that's known to be a bit more holy, or pure? Would he eat Rich Tea because their simplicity and unpretentiousness matches the values his faith professes? Or is he more likely to be a Jammy Dodger man, because the reward for the hard slog of eating your way through the outer biscuit is the jam in the middle (metaphor for struggling through life before reaching heaven)? Might he favour a Penguin, as an ironic reference to nuns? I'd be interested to hear what the biscuit experts think. Regards Brendan
	Nicey replies: Well as the supreme head of the Roman Catholic Church, and given the amount of suffering he has already endured, I hope at the very least they offered him some decent biscuits. Being an old Polish fella who had a tube inserted in his neck last night, then I'm thinking he would probably give the biscotti a miss and go for something a bit easier on the throat. I would have thought something light, devoid of tricky to swallow bits an bobs and not too sweet, I think a nice shortbread finger or two. Maybe in a day or two if his physicians think he's up for it, he might want to see off a whole pack of Jaffa Cakes, which are a popular tea sort of thing in Poland.
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